In Our Hearts, They're Still With Us
by kamywho
Summary: George is determined to try and prevent Fred from dying in the Battle of Hogwarts.


**A/N: Hey there! This little one-shot was inspired by something I saw on Tumblr. And let me tell you, I cried writing this. Re-reading it, however, I realized it wasn't that sad. It was just the thought of Fred dying that was sad. **

**So with out further ado...**

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><p>This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real. That was not Fred's body that George was looking down at. His family, Harry, and Hermione weren't crying over Fred. This had to be a figment of his imagination.<p>

Because Fred Weasley couldn't be dead.

George instantly remembered that one conversation by the lake at the Burrow he had with his brother many years ago.

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><p>"<em>So we'll be best friends forever?" George asked. <em>

"_Forever and ever. Until the day we die," Fred confirmed. George just nodded, pleased with the pact he and his brother had just made. After a while, a thought came to mind. _

"_Gred?" He asked tentatively, using the nickname only he used for his brother. _

"_Forge," the other twin answered. _

"_What…what if one of us dies first?" he whispered, turning his head on the grass to face his brother. _

"_Well," Fred thought, "We won't. Because we're twins; and I guess twins have some sort of special connection, you know? I promise, when we die, we'll die together. And we'll die fighting for something important. The kind of important we'll tell our children about," he said convincingly. _

_George nodded, reaching for his brother's hand and squeezed it. As always, Fred squeezed back. _

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><p>Now, in the Great Hall all George wanted to do was reach out and squeeze his brother's hand. When he finally did, it broke his heart to realize that Fred wouldn't squeeze back. He never would again.<p>

Quickly, ignoring the fact that his vision was blurred through tears, he ran to find McGonagall. She would fix this; she had to, she was his only hope. He found her in the foyer along with Professor Slughorn.

"Professor! Professor M!" George called out as he ran towards her.

Minerva McGonagall turned her gaze to see the redheaded boy running towards her. "Yes, Weasley what is it?"

"I-I need your help. Please," he begged without even asking the professor what he needed.

Somehow, a little instinct shot up in McGonagall. She suddenly knew what George needed from her. She saw it in his eyes; the hope of an innocent child asking for something that was out of her control. It pained her to tell him nothing could be done. She simply shook her head slowly, her eyes apologetic.

"Mr. Weasley, if it's about your brother…I'm terribly sorry but –" she reached out a hand to place on George's shoulder, but the boy took a step back.

"But he's my other half! I need him! Please, just help me! A…A time-turner or something!" He pleaded, more tears spilling down his cheeks. "Just, please!"

McGonagall opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't form any words. She truly wished she could grant George a time-turner, but she knew it would be completely unfair to everyone else who had fought in the battle. "Mr. Weasley, please understand. If I give you a time-turner to prevent your brother from getting killed, I'd have to grant everyone in the castle who lost a loved one a time-turner as well. I'm sorry, Weasley. But, there's nothing I can do to…" She trailed off. George, however had already broken into a run thinking of another person that could help him.

_Hermione. _

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><p>He knew back in his fifth year Ron kept complaining about how Hermione seemed to always appear and disappear at random times. He and Fred had already figured out that the girl was in possession of a time-turner, but it was fun watching Ron freak out. Now, all he wanted was the find her so she could teach him how he could go back in time to save Fred. She had to; he was Ron's girlfriend now. Wasn't there an unwritten rule that girlfriends and boyfriends had to help their significant others' family?<p>

He found her in the library. Or, what was left of the library. She was just walking through the aisles, her fingers brushing against the worn spines of remaining books. She probably sensed his presence and turned around. Her face fell instantly.

"George," she breathed out.

He slowly walked towards Hermione, wiping away his tears. "I–I need you to help me. Back in your third year, I know you had a–"

Hermione cut him off, "A time-turner, I know."

"I was wondering if you could teach me. That way we could make sure Fred was never by that wall, and he could still be here!" he said, his voice dripping with hope.

She frowned and shook her head once, "George. You know I want Fred back, too. But I need you to understand that meddling with time…it's _dangerous_. You can't just wing it."

"But you're the brightest witch of your age! You have to!" George exclaimed, slowly getting frustrated with the girl in front of him. Didn't she understand? This was _Fred. _He never spent more than a few minutes by his side; how was he supposed to spend at least 50 years without him?

"I'm really, really sorry. I know it's hard, and I know how much he means to you; how much he means to all of us!" She cried, her voice cracking.

"If he means so much, then help me! We could go together and stop it! Stop everyone from dying!" He argued, raking his hand through his hair roughly.

"George," Hermione said softly reaching out for the taller boy.

"I know how unfair it is! You don't need to tell me," he yelled. Hermione quickly reached up and wrapped him in an embrace. George tried to struggle out of it, but Hermione kept her arms firm and quietly shushed him. After a few minutes, George calmed down and gave into Hermione. He whispered through sobs, "I just want my brother back. I _need_ him back."

Hermione knew better than to give some spiel about how Fred was gone, and they would need to slowly accept the fact and move on. So instead, she leaned against the bookshelf and slid down, pulling George with her. Once they were sitting on the floor, George continued crying into her shoulder.

"Hey," she offered as soft as she could manage. "It's like Neville said earlier, remember?"

George sniffed in response.

"People die everyday; friends and family. And tonight we lost Remus, Tonks, Fred, and a lot of other people. But, they didn't die in vain. They died fighting for something they believed in. So I want you to always, always remember that they're still with us. Right there," she smiled sadly, pointing to George's heart.

"Especially Fred," he mumbled.

"Especially him," she confirmed.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it! <strong>

**Review, please and thanks! :)**


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